Professional dollies can cost up to $2,000.
A dolly is a mount for a camera on a track that enables the camera to move smoothly. Dollies are necessary for tracking shots so that the camera can move along with the action. Dollies are used extensively in major motion pictures, and the dolly tracks can be quite elaborate, extending for several hundred feet. You can make your own 10-foot dolly that moves from left to right.
Instructions
1. Screw the roller skate wheels onto the four corners of the wood plank using screws and a screwdriver. Make sure all the wheels face the same direction, so that the wood plank resembles a crude skateboard.
2. Coat the bottom of the tripod legs in superglue. Carefully place the tripod in the center of the dolly and firmly press down on the tripod to ensure that the glue adheres to the wood. Wait until the glue is dry, per the drying time indicated on the glue's packaging.
3. Place the wood plank on top of the two PVC pipes so that the wheels on each side line up on top of the PVC pipes. The pipes will act as a track; the roller skate wheels should fit perfectly on top of the PVC pipes. The PVC pipe should rest perfectly in the gap between the roller skate wheels.
4. Place one 2-by-4 piece of wood against the ends of the PVC pipe while the wood plank dolly rests on top of the PVC pipes. With a pencil, trace the ends of the PVC pipe onto the 2-by-4 wood. Drill holes onto the 2-by-4 using the pencil trace as a guideline. The ends of the PVC pipe will fit into this newly drilled space. Once the holes are drilled in one piece of wood, drill the exact same holes into the second 2-by-4. Coat the inside of the wood holes with superglue and insert the ends of the PVC pipe into them. Do this with both ends of the PVC pipe.
5. Test the dolly to make sure it can easily slide back and forth on the track. Then attach a camera to the tripod and do a test shoot.
